Bobbin supporting mechanism for automatic yarn winders



March 24, 1953 F. F. s'rANGE 2,632,612

BOBBIN SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR' AUTOMATIC YARN WINDERS Filed April A11, 195o 2 sx-IEETs-smm 1 76 1N VEN TOR. i

March 24, 1953 F. F. sTANGE N BOBBIN SUPPORTING MECHANISM 'FOR AUTOMATIC YARN WINDERS y Filed April 11, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 .um v

` INVENToR. FMD/NAND F.' STA/V65 BY 7% ,j Agg/ums.

Patented Mar. 24,` 1953 BOBBIN SUPPORTING MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC YARN WINDERS Ferdinand F. Stange, Westfield, Mass., assgnor to Foster Machine Company, Westfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 11, 1950, Serial No. 155,165

3 Claims.

l The present invention relates to a novel and improved bobbin support for multi-unit winding machines, and more particularly to an improved mechanism in which a reserve bobbin may be automatically moved to an unwinding or feeding position as the exhausted bobbin is doffed.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice With the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims. V `The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein. and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one vembodiment of the invention, and together with j therefrom;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2, with certain parts broken j away; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken i on the line 5-5 of Figure 1 and showing two positions of a moving rack for actuating the bobbin support. Y The present invention is an improvement upo the yarn winding machine of the patent to Louis M. Cotchett No. 2,395,462, granted February 26, 1946, although in many respects the present invention is of more general application andlmay be applied to multi-unit windingmachines where bobbin-from which yarnis being fed to a wind- `ing lmachine or other yarn-using apparatusy characters as in said patent.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved bobbin supportfor` -a plurality of bobbins by which on exhaustion of the yarn from one bobbin, it is automatically and positively doffed and its place is taken by a reserve bobbin at the same time that the support which held the doffed bobbin is returned to a loading position to'receive another reserve bobbin containing a fresh supply* of yarn.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided in a winding machine a rotatable member carrying a plurality of bobbin supports each of which may support a bobbin or other package from which yarn is tobe vfed and these supports are individuallypivotally mounted with respect to the rotatable member so that they maybe moved relative to the rotatable member. The rotatable member is intermittently rotated, for instance by the passage of a tender, after one of the supporting bobbins has been exhausted of yarn. As it is rotated, the bobbin support s holding the exhausted bobbin is positively moved about its pivot by cam means which` depress the bobbin support from its normally uprightposition and move it to a doing position, and these cam means also positively move the bobbin oif from its support. Continued rotation of the rotatable member, interchanges the positions of the bobbin supports so that a reserve bobbin moves intov the feeding position previously occupied by the exhausted bobbin and the associated bobbin support moves to a position where it may be provided with a new reserve bobbin so as to prepare it for subsequent 4movement to-a yarn feeding position.

. It will be understood that theforegoing general rdescription, and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive` thereof.

Referring now in detail to the present preferred and illustrative embodiment of the Ainvention as shown in the accompanying drawings, many of the parts are substantially identical :with those shown in the prior Patent No. `2,395,462 and for convenience these parts areidentified in the present drawings by the same reference The present invention is illustratively shown `as providing a bobbin supporting means which serves as the yarn supply to a multi-unit winding machine, a portion of one such unit being shown in Figure 1 of the Vpresent drawings. 'As there shown, there is provided a frame 4i) on which is supported a rotating driving roll '3l and "1a `traversing yarn guide.Y 62 'serving to lguide "the yarn Y as it is drawn from a bobbin through the yarn tension means `349 and is wound onto the package 45.

As more fully explained in said prior patent the winding operation is automatically stopped upon a failure` of the yarn Y and the winding operation may be restarted by depressing the starting lever or handle H0, which action is preferably carried out automatically as the tender |60 moves past the idle winding unit, the raised handle allowing rack 203 to remain in the `position shown rather than to be depressed by engagement of the lever 20| with roller 211, so that replacement of the exhausted bobbin, or the bobbin from which the yarn has failed, is accomplished.

The bobbin supporting and changing mechanism of the present invention is mounted on a bracket which is supported on a rod 16 extending lengthwise of the winding machine and fast in the frame members 40. Extending upwardly from bracket 15 is a shaft member 14 on which is rotatably mounted a rotatable member ||2 comprising a disc H4 which is rigidly connected to sprocket gear 2|0 by means of sleeve ||8 so that the disc H4 may be driven by gear 2|0. Mountedon disc ||4 are a plurality, preferably two, upwardly extending bobbin receiving pins 18,V which are diametrallyV spaced on the disc and are pivotally supported thereon so as to be movable toward and from shaft 14 in a plane radial to the shaft. At the lower end of each pin 19 is a pin supporting bracket ||8 which is received between lugs formed integrally with the disc ||4 and carrying the pin |22 by which the bracket ||8 is pivotally mounted on the disc. A coil spring |24 coiled around the pin |22 and having its ends bearing against the disc and the bracket, is provided for each of the brackets H8 so as to hold the bobbin pins 13 in a normally upright position as shown in Figure 2, at the same time permitting the pins 19 to be swung downwardly as shown in the dot-dash lines of Figure 3.

The rotatable member I2 is held against axial movement on the shaft 14 by means of .a lower 'collar |25 and an upper collar` |28, these collars 'being secured to the shaft in proper position by means of suitable set screws.

For the purpose of anchoring the bobbin core 10 on the bobbin supporting pin 19, the upper end of the brackets ||8 is bevelled for a major portion of its circumference as at |30, and the bracket is out away as at |32, the dimensions of this upper portion of the bracket being such as to allow the smallest portion of the bracket to enter into and snugly engage the lower portion of the cylindrial bore extending axially through the bobbin core 10.

Means are also provided in accordance with the present invention for automatically dropping a bobbin from an intermediate position on the pin 19 to its lowermost position, the force of this dropping being sufficient to push the lower end of the bobbin core onto the tapered upper end of the bracket H8. For this purpose, a ledge |38 is fixed to the collar |28 and extends at right angles to the shaft 14 for a small portion of its circumference. Ledge |36 extends sufficiently close to the pin 19 in bobbin-loading position so that the bottom end of the bobbin core rests on the ledge but is released therefrom by rotation of the bobbin supporting mechanism about its shaft 14. As this rotation occurs, the lower j end of the bobbin core rides off the edge of the "7... -ledge |36 allowing the bobbinto Vdrop w-ith some 4 force and to be securely engaged by the tapered upper end of the bracket |8.

Means are also provided for positively depressing each of the bobbin pins 19 as the bobbin pin is moved from its feeding position back to its loading position, and these means also include means for positively pushing the exhausted bobbin or core 10 from its supporting pin 19 so that the bobbin is discharged into a suitable chute or box and may be removed from the machine.

As embodied, these means comprise a stationary cam which is preferably formed integral with the collar |28 and is formed as a cam rail |40 which extends laterally from shaft 14 and the collar |28. The cam rail |40 is of a generally spiral form, the outer end being supported by a portion |42 which returns to the collar |28 and may be integral with the collar and cam |40. The cam portion |40 extends downwardly as well as outwardly, and its upper and inner end is preferably so located with respect to the bracket ||8 and pin 19 that rotation of the disc H4 in a clockwise direction (Figure 4) causes the pin 19 to be moved about its pivot |22 from the position shown in Figure 2 to the dot-dash shown in Figure 3. Simultaneously with the pivotal lowering of the pin 13, the cam rail |40 engages with the bottom end of the bobbin core 10 so as to positively push the bobbin from the bobbin pin 19, thereby freeing the bobbin from the tapered portion |30 of the bracket ||8 and moving the bobbin to the point where it will fall off the pin and be discharged or doffed as shown in Figure 1.

Means are also provided for definitely locating each bobbin supporting pin 18 in its proper position with respect to the remainder of the machine, and for this purpose, collar |28 supports a leaf spring |46 which extends downwardly and has its lower rounded end |48 in contact with the generally cylindrical periphery of disc H4, At suitable points around the circumference of the disc I4 are provided notches v|50 into which the rounded end |48 is adapted to enter thereby forming a resilient detent locating the rotational position of the disc H4 :and holding it against accidental displacement.

Means are provided for rotating the bobbin supporting means about the shaft 14, and these means operate to turn it a half revolution in case only two bobbin supports are provided and include a rack 203 carried by the tender |60 on the pivoted arm 20|, the rack 203 being adapted to engage sprocket gear 2|0 and rotate it the desired amount.

In case the bobbin is not to be shifted, as is the case where yarn is still being wound from a bobbin on the unit in question, arm 0 is depressed and rollar 211 engages with the upper end component of arm 20| so as to lower the rack 203 sufliciently to move it out of possible engagement with the gear 2 0. As shown in Figure l, the rack 203 may be considered as traveling in a direction toward the observer, and in Figure 5v the rack is shown in a top plan view and travelling toward the bottom of the sheet.

In order to facilitate location of a replenishment Vbobbin on its bobbin supporting pin 19, a generally cylindrical chute 230 is provided and extends upwardly beyond the bobbin pin 19 in reserve loading position. The chute 238 has its lower Vend slightly tapered to facilitate guiding of the bobbin onto the pin 19, and chute 230 is formed in two parts, hinged by means of hinge 232, and normally held in closed position by means of coil spring 233, the hinging of the machine.

`chute being so constructed, as in the Cotchett patent, so that the chute is opened as the bobbin support is rotated, thereby allowing the reserve bobbin to be moved from the loading position to its yarn feedingposition.

In operation, and where only two bobbin supporting or receiving pins are provided one is normally at the loading position within the chute 230 where it may receive a fresh reserve bobbin, and the other is located at the yarn feeding position where yarn is drawn from it and is wound onto the package. Figure 2 shows the parts after a reserve bobbin has been loaded onto the empty bobbin receiving pin 19, and as the yarn on the other bobbin core has been exhausted, and the bobbin receiving pins are to be interchanged in their positions with the dofng of the exhausted bobbin.

Assuming that the yarn has been exhausted from the lefthand bobbin, or that a break has occurred between the bobbin and the package 45, either of which conditions has already caused the starting lever ||0 to be moved to its uppermost position so that rack 203 will be in a position to engage gear 2|0 as the tender |60 advances past the particular winding unit; under these conditions the rack 203 rotates gear 2|0 one-half revolution, and in so doing rotates both bobbin supporting pins 'I9 about the shaft 14 so that each bobbin pin nally assumes the position formerly occupied by the other pin.

At the beginning of this rotation, the full bobbin 1| causes the chute 230 to be opened and the lower end of the full bobbin 1| rides off the end of the arcuate ledge |36 dropping the bobbin onto the tapered end |30 of bracket H8. Simultaneously the other bracket ||8 on which the exhausted bobbin 10 is mounted, is swung outwardly away from the shaft 14 by engagement with the cam rail |40, the downward inclination of the cam rail lowering the pin to the position shown in Figure 3, while the spiral or lateral sweep of the cam rail causes the bobbin core to be pushed off the pin 19 to the point where it is completely doffed and falls into a suitable chu-te or box in the lower part of the winding This rotation continues for the full half revolution, by which time rack 203 is disengaged from the gear 2|0 and the detent |48, |50 again holds the bobbin supporting mechanism in its new position with the reserve yarn bobbin now forming the active yarn supply from which yarn is drawn, and the other bobbin supporting pin, now empty, is located within the chute 230 and is ready to receive a new reserve supply.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the Vspecific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. In a yarn winding machine, an upwardly extending shaft, a member rotatable thereon, a gear connected therewith, a bobbin receiving pin normally parallel to the shaft and pivoted to move in a plane radial to the shaft, spring means tending to restore the pin to its normal position, cam means extending laterally from rthe shaft and stationary therewith and having a surface extending outwardly land downwardly from the rotatable member whereby rotation of the pivoted pin causes the pin to be depressed against the force of the spring and also causes a bobbin to be positively doffed from the pin and a ledge extending laterally from the shaft to support a bobbin as it is placed on the pin, said ledge being interrupted whereby rotation of the pin about the shaft causes the bobbin to be fully seated on the pin.

2. In a yarn winding machine, as claimed in claim 1 in which the pin has a tapered portion to engage with the bottom of an axial hole in the bobbin.

3. In a yarn winding machine, an upwardly extending shaft, a member rotatable thereon a bobbin receiving pin normally parallel to the shaft and pivoted to move in a plane radial to the shaft, means for individually depressing the pins one-by-one as the member is rotated including a cam track for positively doing bobbins from the pins, means for restoring the pins to their normal position and a ledge extending laterally from the shaft `to support a bobbin as it is placed on the pin, said ledge being interrupted whereby rotation of the pin about the shaft causes the bobbin to be fully seated on the pin.

FERDINAND F. STAN GE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Y Date 1,115,509 Colman Nov. 3, 1914 1,125,679 Fessmann Jan. 19, 1915 1,978,550 Reiners Oct. 30, 1934 2,040,023 Reiners May 5, 1936 2,124,499 Swanson July 19, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 261,258 Germany June 18, 1913 

